ST. LOUIS — In what is already going down as one of the greatest comeback stories in National Hockey League history, the St. Louis Blues get to write a final chapter.

They made sure of that by closing the book on the San Jose Sharks Tuesday with a 5-1 victory in Game 6 of the Western Conference final, punching their ticket back to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 49 years.

With San Jose coming off a 5-0 beating and without three of its top players — Joe Pavelski, Tomas Hertl and Erik Karlsson — they weren’t given much chance to pull the upset in enemy territory and force a seventh game at home.

And the Blues weren’t about to give them even one breath of life. Any concern that St. Louis might relax against a stripped down opponent or be distracted by what lies ahead of them was put to rest on the second shot of the game. David Perron’s goal at 1:32 set the tone for the night.

A power play goal from Vladimir Tarasenko made it 2-0 at the first intermission. The Sharks rose up, briefly, to make it 2-1 midway through the second, but Brayden Schenn quelled the uprising with his long-awaited second of the playoffs.

And when Tyler Bozak eliminated all doubt with the 4-1 goal at 13:05, the crowd stood on its feet and turned the last seven minutes into a victory party.

The “We Want The Cup!” chant shook the roof.

The Sharks injuries meant a rather unfortunate and anti-climactic end (10-1 Blues over the last two games) to what had been a great series, but that is of no concern to anyone in St. Louis. They are in the final.

From last in the NHL at the start of January to the last team standing in the West. It’s been an incredible trip. And it’s not over.

“It’s been a great ride, I don’t want it to end,” said Blues winger Patrick Maroon. “I want to keep this thing rolling. We have to find ways to keep doing what we’re doing.”

Even the Blues themselves weren’t sure they would be able to turn it around when they looked at the standings after New Year’s and saw themselves sitting dead last. But once it started rolling, they started to believe.

“You’re looking at the standings and are like, ‘Man, we’ve got to jump over a LOT of teams,’” said defenceman Jay Bouwmeester. “Unless we do something like (a crazy winning streak), it’s not going to happen.

“And when we did (11 in row in February), we kind of got closer and then we were playing good. You’re like ‘OK, we’re playing good and we have a lot of division games to play. Maybe we can make the playoffs.’”

BLUED UP

For the city of St. Louis, it’s been a long wait, almost half a century. As as proud and loyal a hockey market as there is in the U.S., this has been a long time coming.

“I’m really impressed with the fan base here and the support this team gets from the fans,” said head coach Craig Berube. “It’s a great hockey town, a great fan base. It’s a great organization since I’ve been involved in it.

“You don’t hear a lot about it (outside St. Louis). I’ve been on the East Coast for most of my career as a player and as a coach. It’s been unreal to be here and be part of it all, from ownership down.”

SHUT DOWN

When the desperate Sharks launched the third-period push everyone know was coming (10-0 shots in the first 10 minutes), goaltender Jordan Binnington shut them down again. Binnington held the highest scoring team in the regular season to two goals in the last three games,

HEART BREAK

The sentiment in San Jose, and among many in the hockey world, was that it would be great for the Sharks to win a Stanley Cup for Joe Thornton, a classy and deserving greybeard nearing the end of his career.

Fact it, it wasn’t just Thornton. The Sharks are stacked with long-serving veterans who don’t have a ring and might never get this close again. Like Pavelski, Brent Burns and Logan Couture, just to name a few. This stings those players the worst because they, more than anyone, understand how rare these opportunities are.

“Both Joes (Pavelski) are the heartbeat of this team,” said head coach Pete DeBoer. “They do what they do every day, regardless.”

HEADS YOU LOSE

The Sharks had some calls go their way in the post-season, but they think they’ve had some pretty important ones go against them, too. Like the hits that knocked Hertl and Pavelski out of Game 5 and kept them in street clothes for Game 6. Justin Braun also took a head shot in Game 4.

There were no penalties or supplemental discipline on any of the plays. If there was, maybe it makes a difference.

“You don’t want to see your teammates get hit like that,” said Braun. “But you can’t worry about the refs’ calls or non-calls. You just got to go out there and keep playing.

“Those things you can’t control. You’ve just got to ignore that and control what you can control.”

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